Foldable brassiere



April 1967 A.. B- WILSON v 3,312,223

FOLDABLE BRASSIERE Filed Jan. 6, 1965 FIG. 6

. INVENTOR.

. ARNOLD B. WILSON AT TOR NEY'S- United States Patent Office 3,312,223 Patented Apr. 4, 1967 3,312,223 FOLDABLE BRASSIERE Arnold B. Wilson, Auburndale, Mass., assignor to Micro Wire Products, Cambridge, Mass., a partnership Filed Jan. 6, 1965, Ser. No. 423,708 2 Claims. (Cl. 128469) This invention relates to brassieres and more particularly pertains to a bust supporting device employing a foldable frame upon which the fabric breast cups are mounted.

Foldable wire frames heretofore utilized in brassieres have employed rotatable joints permitting such freedom that the garment Was not firmly pressed into the cleavage between the breasts and so did not always maintain the bosom divided. Other wire frames have been employed which pressed so firmly against the body that wearing of the garment became uncomfortable. The invention resides in a foldable brassiere frame constructed in a manner causing it to maintain the bosom divided without discomfort to the wearer.

In accordance with the invention, the brassiere frame has a pair of bowed members on which the breast cups are supported. Each bowed member has one end secured to a central member of the frame in a manner permitting the bowed member to turn through a limited angle. The construction of the frame permits the bowed member to swing toward one another into parallelism. Turning movement in the opposite direction, however, is limited to prevent the bowed members from being more than approximately 180 apart. When the brassiere is worn, the bowed members are in positions where they are about 180 apart. Any force tending to enlarge or diminish that angular separation causes the central member of the frame to be more firmly pressed into the cleavage of the bosom.

The invention, both as to its construction and arrangement, can be better understood from the following exposition when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a brassiere constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 depicts a preferred embodiment of the brassiere frame in its fully open position;

FIG. 3 illustrates the folded brassiere frame;

FIG. 4 is a view taken along the plane 4--4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the developed hinge plate; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the hinge plate showing the central bend.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is depicted a brassiere employing breast cups 1 and 2 having loops 3 and 4 to which shoulder straps 5 and 6 are attached by rings 7 and 8 in a manner permitting adjustment of the strap length. As is usual, bandeaux 9 and 10 are attached to the breast cups and clasps are provided on the bandeaux to permit them to be joined together at the back of the wearer. Each breast cup is provided with a substantially semi-circular, perimetric channel, viz, the channels 1A and 2A, in which is disposed a member bowed to conform to the curve of the base of the breast.

The brassiere frame shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 utilizes bowed members 11 and 12 that are of generally semicircular configuration. The bowed members are preferably rods of a resilient steel that retains its springiness despite repeated flexure. To prevent the steel frame from staining the fabric portion of the brassiere when the brassiere is washed, the frame can be plated to prevent rusting or the steel used in the frame can be of a non-rusting type. Furthermore, the frame need not be metallic, as synthetic materials, such as the plastics, can be employed which provide the requisite strength and resilience.

Assuming the bowed members 11 and 12 to be steel rods, the free ends of the members are preferably coated with a smooth substance, such as an epoxy resin, to provide spheroidal terminations 13 and 14. The smooth spheroid inhibits the free end of the bowed member from fraying and unduly wearing away the fabric of the channel in the breast cup enveloping the bowed member.

Each of the bowed members has one end secured to a hinge plate 15 in a manner permitting the bowed members to swing about the plate. The hinge plate, as best depicted in FIG. 5, has four tabs, 16, -17, 18, and 19 protruding from its body. The body of the plate, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, has a central ridge 20 extending tranversely across it. The tabs of the hinge plate are bent into loops to form bearings in which the ends of members 11 and 12 are journaled. The journaled end of each member has a crook in it which fits, as shown in FIG. 3, between the upper and lower tab. The crooked portions 21 and 22 of the members, preferably, have approximately the same curvature as the cross-section of ridge 20 (FIG. 6). The crooks 21 and 22 prevent members 11 and 12 from being disengaged from the hinge plate. More importantly, crooks 21 and 22 limit the pivotal movement of the members about the plate. The restriction in the swing of those members about the plate is effected when the crooked portions bear against the edges of ridge 20, as depicted in FIG. 4.

From FIG. 3, it is apparent that bowed members 13 and 14 can be swung into positions where those members are side by side and parallel. The brassiere, when so folded, requires a minimum area for storage. FIG. 4 shows the bowed members folded outwardly, as would be their positions when the brassiere is worn. Thebowed members are approximately apart; at that angle, crooks 21 and 22 bear against the edges of ridge 20. Any movement tending to enlarge that angle, causes the hinge plate to be forced more firmly against the wearer. Any movement tending to make that angle less than 180, as by rotating the shoulders forwardly, also causes the hinge plate to move toward the wearer. The hinge plate is, therefore, urged into the area between the breasts and maintains the bosom divided. To prevent the hinge plate from chafing the wearer, the hinge plate is covered by a pad 23 sewn to breast cups 1 and 2.

Although bowed members 11 and 12 are illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 as having their journalled ends bent downwardly, it is obvious that the downward bend can be eliminated, if desired. As the construction illustrated in the drawings can be changed in obvious ways, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the depicted embodiment, but rather that the invention be construed in accordance with the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A brassiere f-rame comprising a pair of bowed resilient members, a hinge plate providing a pair of bearings, each bowed member having one end journalled in a different one of the bearings, each bowed member having a crook adjacent its journalled end, and means on the hinge plate cooperating with each crook on each of said bowed members for limiting pivotal movement of the bowed members towards one another in one direction by obstructing the crooks while permitting pivotal movement of the bowed members towards one another in the other direction for folding of the frame.

2. A foldable brassiere comprising a pair of breast cups having perimetal channels, a pair of bands secured to the breast cups, the bands and breast cups being 3 4 adapted to encircle the body of the wearer, a pair of References Cited by the Examiner bowed resilient members disposed in the perimetal chan- UNITED STATES PATENTS nels, a hinge plate having a transverse ridge, the hinge 2 446 437 8/1948 Schoebel 128-471 plate providing a pair of bearings adjacent the edges of 2626395 1/1953 Whitman 128469 the transverse ridge, each bowed member having one of 5 its ends journalled in a different one of the bearings, FOREIGN PATENTS and each bowed member having a crooked portion adja- 2 5 4 3 12 1952 Switzer1an cent its journalled end for limiting pivotal movement of the member by abutting the transverse ridge. ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner. 

2. A FOLDABLE BRASSIERE COMPRISING A PAIR OF BREAST CUPS HAVING PERIMETAL CHANNELS, A PAIR OF BANDS SECURED TO THE BREAST CUPS, THE BANDS AND BREAST CUPS BEING ADAPTED TO ENCIRCLE THE BODY OF THE WEARER, A PAIR OF BOWED RESILIENT MEMBERS DISPOSED IN THE PERIMETAL CHANNELS, A HINGE PLATE HAVING A TRANSVERSE RIDGE, THE HINGE PLATE PROVIDING A PAIR OF BEARINGS ADJACENT THE EDGES OF 